Buffalo Soldiers honored at San Antonio National Cemetery

Updated 2:13 pm, Friday, January 24, 2014

Photo: Courtesy Bexar County Buffalo So

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Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers Association, members take part in 2013 Veterans Day celebration honoring their namesakes at San Antonio National Cemetery. Guest speaker is Army Brig. Gen. Kirk F Vollmecke, commander of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Sam Houston.

Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers Association, members take part in 2013 Veterans Day celebration honoring their namesakes at San Antonio National Cemetery. Guest speaker is Army Brig. Gen. Kirk F Vollmecke,

Last Sunday's column about the histories of our two city's two national cemeteries — San Antonio National Cemetery on the East Side, established in 1867, and Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery adjacent to the historic Army post, founded in 1931 — noted that both cemeteries “were the site of Memorial Day and Veterans Day services conducted by patriotic and veterans groups into the mid-1960s.” After that, the larger-scale observances organized by multiple groups tended to move to the much larger space of the newer military burial ground at Fort Sam.

Reader Billy Gordon, a past president of the Bexar County 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Association, wrote to point out that his group continues to pay its respects to those buried at the San Antonio National Cemetery, including “close to 300 'buffalo soldiers' (African-American soldiers who served on the Western frontier), including some of those who were reburied from other (closed) forts.”

About 20 years ago, Gordon said, “In order to bring recognition to this little-known historic site, we obtained permission from Fort Sam administration to start holding a Veterans Day ceremony, which we have conducted ever since.” The Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers portray their namesakes, host guest speakers representing the military and government, and invite JROTC and ROTC cadets to participate in their annual observance at San Antonio National Cemetery, held in conjunction with the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's Celebrate America's Military activities during Veterans Day week.

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After the ceremony each year, group members gather at the Saber and Rifle statue — a presentation from the city — in Buffalo Soldier Park, three blocks from San Antonio National Cemetery at the corner of Wyoming and Palmetto streets. There, the Buffalo Soldiers hold a reception for all who attend, including a viewing of their artifacts displays.

Next year's Buffalo Soldiers observance at the East Side national cemetery will be Nov. 11; guest speaker will be Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta, commander of the 502nd Air Wing and Joint Base San Antonio. The event is free and open to the public.

Radio days: Columns about bygone radio shows brought reminiscences from readers who used to be listeners.

A Jan. 5 column about KONO radio's “So You Want to Be a Cop” reality show reminded Bonnie J. Batchelder of a particularly memorable episode. “I cannot count the number of times I have heard the story about a nude woman being picked up in Brackenridge Park one night in 1951 by two local boys who said they were taking her to her house but ended up on 'So You Want To Be A Cop,'” Batchelder wrote. “The lady was drunk and very verbal. It was played several times and was the laugh of the day. Those local boys are still around to this day, still telling the story. I know because I am married to one of the boys. It would be interesting to hear the recording and know the real story.”

Nancy White, like many other KONO listeners, remembers the famous, often-rerun “Where's Ruth?” episode, in which an inebriated man wanders around Brackenridge Park searching for his girlfriend. “We listened every week,” says White, “and really enjoyed the one where the man wandered around calling for Ruth. My mother's name was Ruth, and she got lots of teasing from friends and family.”

Email Paula Allen at historycolumn@yahoo.com. Follow her at twitter.com/sahistory column.